Wednesday, December 17, 2014

DOLLAR DVDS: PART ONE

PART ONE OF THREE

I MISS ONE DOLLAR DVDS!.....

When I use the term "dollar dvds", I'm NOT referring to all the "mainstream" company DVDs and BLU-RAYs that are DUMPED at chains like DOLLAR TREE. I'm talking about discs that were MADE TO SELL FOR ONE DOLLAR.

During the late nineties, DVDs started showing up in stores that specialized in selling all their merchandise for ONE DOLLAR or LESS ( such as DOLLAR TREE and other chains ).

You could also find those discs at gas station marts, convenience stores, and even some grocery stores.

A short time later, they started showing up at big chain stores, like WALMART, KMART, and TARGET.

I remember buying FOUR double features for ONE DOLLAR during a "black friday" sale at TARGET. The double features were made by a company called PC TREASURES.

SOMETHING FOR ALMOST EVERYONE.....

It wasn't just movies. You'd also find television shows, cartoons, documentaries, and even exercise titles.

Are you fucking kidding me?!... What the fuck do you want for one dollar?!

Believe it or not - while at one of my local DOLLAR TREES - I heard a couple of MORONS complaining about the lack of extra features!... Truly ridiculous!

Some folks actually thought those companies would spend countless THOUSANDS of dollars, to make director / cast commentaries and bonus features for a disc that retails for ONE DOLLAR!... What a bunch of fucking RETARDS!

Just for the record, some companies like EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT, and DIGIVIEW ENTERTAINMENT, would put trailers / preview clips on some of their discs.

FYI: PC TREASURES put some bios and a few other things on their LIP SERVICE DVD - this disc was a rare exception to the rule.

Cover of the BARE KNUCKLES / A DANGEROUS SUMMER double feature DVD ( from EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT ). Screengrabs from an online trailer.

DUPLICATION AND RARE MOVIES.....

Many of the same public-domain movies were being sold by countless companies, and that hurt sales for almost everyone. The world does NOT need another DVD of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD!

Screengrab of the EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT website. It's been gone for a long time.....

A few companies like EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT, had some RARE movies in their library. In fact, EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT sold the only PRESSED disc of BARE KNUCKLES that I know of ( in the United States ).

I'm referring to the seventies action movie starring Robert Viharo and Sherry Jackson, and written / directed by Don Edmonds ( 1937 - 2009 ). In my opinion, it's one of the most underrated exploitation flicks of the seventies.

Not all of the movies those companies sold were public-domain. Some were released without legal permission. Within a few years, some companies started adding licensed titles to their libraries.

WHAT THE FUCK?!.....

Censorship was a problem with SOME of these companies. It seems like ALL of GLOBAL's releases and many of DIGIVIEW's discs were missing all the nudity and profanity.

GLOBAL's DVD cover for THE UNWELCOMED ( aka THE ARRIVAL ).

All the nude scenes were CUT from GLOBAL's version of THE UNWELCOMED ( aka THE ARRIVAL ). Written by Kevin Daniel Ljoka. Directed by David Schmoeller. The film stars, Robin Frates, Robert Sampson, Joseph Culp, John Saxon, and others.

The above scenes were CUT from GLOBAL's disc of THE UNWELCOMED

I found a copy of SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA - aka COUNT DRACULA AND HIS VAMPIRE BRIDE ( by DIGIVIEW ). All the nudity was intact.

DIGIVIEW had at least two different covers for this movie. Did the unedited version get released by mistake? Did the disc with the other cover contain the butchered version of the film?

Fortunately, you had companies like EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT that sold their flicks "as is".

EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT became my favorite DOLLAR DVD company. Unfortunately, their discs were always hard to find in my area.

EAST WEST ENTERTAINMENT's double feature of EATEN ALIVE and CRUCIBLE OF HORROR ( aka THE CORPSE ). EATEN ALIVE is presented in WIDEscreen and uncut. It even has the trailer included ( ahead of the movie ).

EATEN ALIVE was written by Alvin L. Fast, Mardi Rustam, and Kim Henkel.

5 comments:

I have entirely too many dollar DVDs in my collection. In fact, I have one of those huge plastic tubs in a spare room, with perhaps 200-250+ old $1 slimcase / cardboard-sleeve / cardboard box DVDs.

Often, I bought multiple copies of certain titles in order to share with friends (who 9 times out of 10 tossed them in their trashcan).

Among the favorites of which I bought multiples: Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, Africa Screams, At War with the Army, Beast of Yucca Flats, and the Time Travelers double feature DVD of In the Year 2889 and Journey to the Center of Time.

Sometimes I sent a few random dollar DVDs to sick or housebound friends who I knew liked crazy/cheesy movies, and got cards or emails of amused/bemused thanks.

One friend, now sadly deceased, went on at length about how much he loved that dollar DVD with In the Year 2889, as it brought back nostalgic memories of watching the Larry Buchanan "Azalea Pictures" flicks on the late late show. So there are fond memories of a good old pal thanks to that one.

One of the greatest finds among all those dollar discs is the absolute BEST print I've ever seen of Corman's The Little Shop of Horrors, in a thin yellow and black cardboard sleeve, at the "99 Cents Only" store. A flawless print.

Interesting if true. I was surprised though to pick up Lana Del Rey's last CD (Ultraviolence) at Walmart, and it was definitely uncensored. And I have spotted some DVD new releases on the shelves that I was also surprised Walmart carried in stock. Maybe they've changed their policy in the last year or two?

Years ago, I remember reading about, how WALMART - and BLOCKBUSTER - would pressure studios / distributors into editing their films. Otherwise, their films would NOT be sold by those stores.

They no longer do that, but now WALMART allegedly pressures companies into making special "family friendly" DVD / BLU-RAY covers... So, it will not offend their wholesome-hypocritical-values. A movie called THE STRAIN, seems to be a good example of this, but I can NOT confirm it as fact.

I was a little bit stunned to see a gay-themed movie on DVD selling at Walmart recently, first in the new release section, then later in the general DVD section. It has been there for about a month, and is still on the rack. So perhaps Walmart has indeed backed off their censorship policies.

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